The World of Tomorrow
by Draco volans
Summary: c2010. System Lord Eros has been uncovered after 1500 years. With the Goa'uld defeated and his empire gone, there is only one thing to do, rebuild and show the galaxy his 'loving' affection. Rated M for murder, multiple pairings and mentions of slash.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Stargate SG-1, or any aspect of the Stargate franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Authors Note:

Story begins post season ten c2010 following the destruction of the last Baal clone and around the time of the Icarus project. Please take note of the rating. Although I have made my character more patient than many Goa'uld, it is to be expected that whatever benevolence he applies to his servants and allies, may not be extended towards his enemies, or indeed, the person who gets in his way.

"_Between two evils, I always pick the one i have never tried before_."  
Mae West (1892-1980), _Klondike Annie (_1936 Film_)_

**Chapter 1 - Sudden Light**

_Athens, Greece_  
_2010 A.C.E._

Sudden light. That was the first thing he experienced. The second was noises in the room followed by a irritation in his throat as he breathed in the dusty air from within the chamber. Willing his arms to move, pale hands laid themselves upon the golden sides of the sarcophagus, and in an one elegant move he sat aright, eyes snapping open.

The stone room was brightly lit by two large mobile construction lights, the sprayed beam as bright and hot as the noon sun upon the far wall. Eros felt a bead of sweat begin to form on his forehead due to the suffocating lack of airflow. Scrunch!

His eyes jerked sideways towards the source of the sound, like a predatory animal homing in on its prey. The goa'uld narrowed his host's eyes as he focused on the target. It was a man, of that he was certain, a rather rotund one at that, but the clothes the man were clad in, were unlike any he had ever encountered. They were not robes or any toga he had ever seen, the design entirely foreign to him. The fabric that clad his lower half was a durable looking blue material. His feet were covered not in sandals, but some sort of leather footwear. The man's torso was clad in another fabric that may have possibly been wool, but was dyed in a cross pattern of red, blue and white. Upon his head was a type of helmet which did not cover his face. It was red and had a stripe of yellow around the middle which reflected the light.

He was rather wide around the middle, which made Eros sneer in disgust. A thoroughly unappealing specimen. The goa'uld focused on the humans face. It was awash with uncertainty and apprehension. Eros sneered for an entirely different reason.

"Ke`i!" He thundered, his two-toned voice echoing around the stone chamber as he commanded the human to kneel, eyes glowing with power. Instead of falling immediately prostrate before the god, the man only looked confused. The human intruder's eyes looked towards his hand, weighing an object as if deciding its weight. Eros followed the gaze, which came to rest on a dense looking metal bar with a bend in the end. Eros' teeth clenched in fury as the human lifted the bar, obviously intent on doing him harm.

Lifting a hand, there was a flare of light and the approaching threat was thrust backwards off his feet and into the wall, his head hitting with an unforgiving thud. Eros sneered as the human fell in a heap at the base of the wall, dead. He placed his right hand back down on the lip of the sarcophagus, the golden glint of a goa'uld hand device snaking around his arm reflecting in the lights.

Eros pushed himself up out of the gold coffin, his bare feet rested on the cold stone floor. Blinking dust that had been disturbed from the use of his hand device out of his eyes, he took a step and stumbled to regain his footing as he tripped on something on the floor. He cursed under his breath, glad that none bore witness to his ungodly blunder. He glanced downwards to see the culprit and his pulse quickened. Bones. Human bones.

He spun rapidly on the spot taking in the room. There were several bodies in the room. He hadn't notice them immediately because of the dust. The bones were for the most part practically dust themselves, more dust than bone. It was not just dirt that clouded the air. They would have had to have been centuries old at the very least. Likely more. A couple had the lingering fabrics remaining of cloth that may have once been a style similar to that which he wore himself. A toga-like article. However there was one in the corner that drew his attention.

Careful to avoid stepping in any more dried corpses, the goa'uld approached a pile on the other side of his sarcophagus. Unlike the other masses, this was not a pile of bone and old fabrics, but one that still had some form left to indicate it had been a body. This was due to the armour the owner was clad in. Armour of a jaffa.

"Mai'tac" he cursed. He recognised the armor. A symbol was embossed upon the breast plate of the armour. Some form of arrow derivative pointing skywards. The symbol was one he knew well, as it was the symbol his jaffa proudly bore of their master Eros. However this was armour he was equally familiar with as there was only one jaffa who was permitted to bear this symbol upon their armour. A jaffa who had both the trust and the protection that the use of this symbol represented when displayed in such a fashion. That of his first prime.

"Ri'ar" the goa'uld said quietly laying a hand on the breast plate. The pulse-point in the goa'uld's throat pulsed ungainly. Eros looked sideways at the bodies in the tomb. His eyes picked out the details of the fabrics more clearly now the dust had settled once more. The bodies were of his servants. His lo'taur, the most beloved of all his many servants. They were the most beautiful and dutiful. Humans whose every breath was lived in service of their lord. They would take their own lives before they would even entertain the idea of hurting him. He was certain that like his first prime, they would never betray them.

'_No it wasn't them who betrayed me, it was we who were betrayed_' he thought. '_A coward rather than face me, sought to bury me in my sleep_'. His first prime Ri'ar's armor bore the marks of staff blasts. There was no dissent within his ranks, of that he was assured. His servants, jaffa included sang his praises daily with no employ on his part. He was the most loving and loved of all the goa'uld. The treachery would not have originates from within his ranks. Eros turned back to face his fallen first prime, and his jaw tightened in anger. Whoever was responsible would suffer dearly.

He stood from his stoop over the body.

"Lek tol, Ri'ar" Eros said after a lengthy pause of gazing at the armor and remaining bone. With that done he turned and proceeded towards the light filtering down from the hole in the ceiling of the chamber.

**End Chapter**

TRANSLATIONS  
"Ke`i!" - kneel!  
Mai'tac - a goa'uld curse. Insert your own favourite curse, although i believe it means 'damn'.  
Lek tol Ri'ar - goodbye Ri'ar.

Author's Note:  
Dedicated to the most beloved god Eros. If only you had used your powers for evil.  
Chapter 02-03 completed. Will be uploaded periodically.  
Comments and Feedback appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Stargate SG-1, or any aspect of the Stargate franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Authors Note:

"Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him."  
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881)

**Chapter 02 - Close Encounters**

The blood red sun hung low on the horizon, dusk rapidly drawing near. A solitary figure stood arms held at ease behind him, watching the sun descend ever lower. He knew the colour was due a combination of solar rays bouncing off the atmosphere and suspended dust particles, but he watched the sun nevertheless whilst he contemplated his situation.

Eros was no longer in fifth century Greece, of this he was certain. He wasn't sure how many hundreds of years had passed but it was likely more rather than less if the skyline was anything to judge by. Below the setting sun stood a vast cityscape. The buildings certainly reached higher and further than when he last viewed the site, however he was certain if nothing else that it was Athens, given the acropolis still stood proud. For the most part anyway.

'_Has Ra and the system lords conquered the Tau'ri again_' he pondered to himself frowning.

'_There is of no way of knowing, although that human in my 'tomb' did not recognise goa'uld._' Eros frowned.

'_Few goa'uld would let humans advance this far_'.

He turned from the sun as it finally descended below the horizon and twilight began.

The setting was that of a construction site. Materials and scaffolding littered a area roughly the same size of a football field. There were several large machines around the area. Eros had already inspected these. The acrid smell of combustible fuels was immediately obvious to his nose. '_Not so advanced then_' he had thought. As near as the goa'uld could surmise, the site was being prepared to raise large, high rising buildings for accommodation. The humans had obviously been clearing a foundation site and had stumbled across his tomb. Though his investigations had provided no clues into who had buried his sarcophagus beneath the earth. Although he had his guesses.

At the top of the list was his father Ares, a powerful system lord. The god of war had no love for his son. Though his sire had the motive certainly, he doubted the goa'uld had either the intelligence to locate him on earth, or the restraint to not execute him in some painful fashion if he did.

'_Perhaps one of his under-lords_' he mused. '_Though why bury me instead of killing me? An ulterior motive?_'

Eros had determined from the tool marks on his sarcophagus, that the human he had killed in underground tomb was likely an opportunistic crypt robber. One of the human workers on site, who in the course of his job, uncovered the tomb, and in a fit of greed, sought to come alone to benefit from any discoveries. He had forced open the sarcophagus, destroying much of its functionality in the process to the great ire of the goa'uld. Upon discovering the goa'uld, either out of fear or greed, he attempted to kill him, most probably to keep any treasures for himself.

However since it was just one man who awoke him, likely no one else knew he had been uncovered yet. But until he knew where the status quo lay, he would endeavour to keep it that way.

The sound of laughing and approaching footsteps caused the goa'uld to swiftly move sideways behind one of the large construction machines, using it as a barrier. He peered out from the cover of the large, flat blade that was attached to the earth-mover.

Laughing raucously and drawing closer were three humans. All three of them were male, dressed in a style of clothing similar to that of the man he had killed with his hand device. The covering they wore over their legs was the same durable blue material, although one wore it at a shorter length, torn at the knees. The garments upon their upper bodies however were not like the dead mans. One wore a garment of white with what appeared to be some sort of demon on the front.

Another a red garment and the one with the torn bottoms wore black. The one in the red stumbled slightly and the other two laughed at their comrade.

Eros smirked. '_Inebriated of course_' he thought. The goa'uld penned their type down immediately. Three young men in their early twenties, rebelliously dressed and drunk. Street thugs without doubt. He was quite certain he could handle them.

Stepping away from the cover behind the machine, and the distance between them was reduced to a few scant meters. The trio froze in startled surprise at the unexpected discovery.

'_As I suspected_' the goa'uld mused. '_They are not meant to be here. This shall work in my favour_'.

"Kree tau'ri!" Eros announced. "Tal'mac Eros!"

The trio exchanged confused glances between themselves. Eros sighed inwardly, they had no knowledge of goa'uld. It was unlikely then that any of his race clung to power here, at least openly. This complicates matters.

The group having gotten over their surprise, were now openly discussing the goa'uld's attire, pointing at his robes and laughing. Eros' naquadah infused blood boiled in rage at the slight against the god. He lifted his hand device which glowed with power as he pointed it at the group.

"Rin nok!" the goa'uld intoned eyes flashing. However the group acted in an entirely different manner from which the goa'uld was expecting. One of their number, one in white, the largest one, moved forward to attack. Eros fired his hand device at the target and blasted him off his feet and backwards ten feet where he fell to the ground already dead, his organs crushed. The other two having decided to copy their friend, where already in motion and could not stop themselves mid motion in order to flee the powerful attack.

Shifting his hand lower, the goa'uld blasting at the ground. The Young man in the red, had his footing blown out from under him, and he tripped forward, his fall being broken by his face.

Wham!

Eros stumbled backwards to the ground. The last of the trio had closed enough to hit him, and was taking advantage of the fallen body, pounding at any free surface he could reach. Eros felt a sensation he had not experience in some time. Pain.

With a growl the goa'uld backhanded his attacker of him, standing up rapidly as the young man, stumbled away a couple steps stunned at the strength of strike.

"Nameth kree!" he shouted at the youth, his hand touching his split lip. His eyes glowed with rage. Pointing his golden kara'kesh at the stumbling target and fired another concussive blast at him that knocked him forwards across the loose surface gravel several meters. The blast had not significantly injured the youth though, and sneering the goa'uld prepared to fire another blast to finish him off.

The appearance of violent sparks when his hand device began to charge up another shot however caused the goa'uld adrenaline to spike, and he quickly sent mental commands to stop his attack. The electricity disappeared, and Eros examined his weapon. The central large red crystal which served as the emitter had a crack in it, likely from impacting the ground. He could not safely fire the device without risking it overloading. And he could not repair it without the necessary tools. The goa'uld eyes flashed in anger. He would just have to do this the old fashioned way.

Walking towards the staggering human, he made a quick detour via the unconscious youth in the red shirt. Eros stamped his bare foot down on the back of the youth's neck roughly where it joined the skull and felt more than heard the satisfying crack. Turning his head he focused in on the final target, his would be attacker. A look of disgust and anger marred his face as he approached.

The youth was just regaining his senses turned around to be face to face with the goa'uld. His eyes widened greatly, and further still as his throat was grasped in a shockingly tight grip, his legs kicked out from under him, and driven into the ground. The youth struggled valiantly but was unable to push him away. Eros's face was cold.

'_And this makes four_' he thought to himself. Eros' victim struggles began to weaken with only one hand fighting to push him off. Just when the goa'uld thought that the youth was about to pass out, there came a paralysing pain hit him in his side, his hands went numb around the boys throat. The goa'uld quickly separated himself, backing away.

Eros' victim lay spreadeagled gasping for air, whilst the goa'uld looked down to see the source of his pain. His pristine white toga was rapidly staining red with blood. The blood of his host. A foldout knife stuck out of his chest. Eros was having difficulty breathing. The wound was fatal.

"Gonach!" he cursed.

'_No! With my sarcophagus damaged thanks to that fool human, I cannot recover my host_.'

"Gahhhh!" He screamed in a combination of pain and rage, yanking out the blade from his body and stalking deranged towards the human bloodied knife in hand. He grabbed him by his throat yanking him up. Eros was losing strength rapidly, but he was still far more powerful than a half choked to death human.

Glowering Eros struck the human across the face, causing his face to snap to the side. Eros coughed, spraying a little blood from his mouth. The blade had pierced his lung. He held the acquisitioned weapon against the young man's throat, contemplating where to put the first cut.

The grasped human chuckled slightly. He said something aloud that Eros didn't understand, though guessed it was something along the lines of "Go ahead, you're dead anyway."

He sneered at the human. '_Death is too good for you._' After a moments contemplation he threw aside the blade to the surprise of his captive. The human didn't have long enough to consider fighting back again as a hand gripped the back of his neck and jerked his head forward.

The human's eyes widened as their lips contacted. His look of surprise turned to horror as he felt some push rapidly into his mouth and down his throat. He screamed into the kiss, unknowingly facilitating the intruder, a sharp, stabbing pain occurred at the back of his throat. Moments later he felt a pain in his head, greater than any he had ever felt in his life.

The young man fell back to the ground eyes rolling the back of his head as his body jerked as if having a seizure. He wanted to scream but couldn't. It felt like every nerve in his body was simultaneously being shocked. Their was no pain comparable. He had experienced pain before in his life. Cuts, piercings, even a few burns, but nothing compared to this suffering.

"_Your suffering is just beginning human_" a unemotive voice said. Where did it come from? He did not know. He did not think anyone else was here, except his attacker, who was lying on the ground beside across his body, possibly unconscious. He could not seem to tilt his own head to check.

'_Oh god it hurts! What is happening_!'.

"_Stupid boy_" the voice said.

'Where is it coming from?' the human, Adam, wondered. 'Is it in my head?' Adam felt as if his senses were suddenly crushed and that he was suddenly smaller than he truly was. He had some sense of the outside world, but it felt so far away. Barely perceivable. More black than light.

'No! It hurts. Stop it!' The voice laughed in his head.

"_You know nothing of pain! But you will. For harming my beloved, your mind will burn for eternity._" Whatever pain Adam had been feeling until then was pleasant at what was unleashed upon him next. He was being burnt. Burnt alive, agony that had no end in sight. There was nothing to do but scream. Scream in the darkness as his body went on living without him.

After several moment's where the only sound that could be heard was ragged breathing, Adam's body stood up gracefully and flexed his hands. Bending his arms he rolled his shoulders. Eyes snapping open, they glowed as he clenched his hands.

'_This body is taller than Arien_' Eros thought, turning his focus inward momentarily to learn about his host. '_This...Adam, is older. It is to be expected_'. A soft exhalation behind him bade the goa'uld swiftly turn. A young boy lay on the ground.

He could not have been more than thirteen years old. Ethereal in appearance, he had the lightest of blond hair, and luminous blue eyes that were soul piercing in appearance. He was small, very small, and fragile looking. The boy wore only a single piece of jewellery, as any more would have likely detracted from his other worldliness. The piece was a gold metal bracelet that snaked around his arm and down to his hand, a red jewel centred on the inside. A goa'uld kara'kesh.

Eros immediately went down in the dirt beside the boy, placing a hand on the wound to stem the flow. The action roused the young boy, who looked up at the taller male.

"I have ...failed you ...my lord" he breathed out in fragmented goa'uld, tears forming in his eyes. Eros said nothing, but laid a hand in a comforting gesture on his face, his face devoid of emotion.

"Arien...I will ease your pain" Eros said softly. Arien smiled gently.

"My lord is kind."

Eros shifted his hand from stemming the wound on his beloved host and behind his head. With a jerk of his hands he snapped the small boy's neck.

"Tak mal arik tiak" he whispered standing up looking down at the bloodied boy. Swallowing past the pain in his throat, he began the task of covering up his presence at the scene.

**END CHAPTER**

TRANSLATIONS  
"Kree tau'ri!" - kree can mean many things, but in this context is 'attention' humans.  
"Tal'mac Eros!" - I am/My name is Eros  
"Rin noc!" - silence  
"Nameth kree!" - you dare touch me!  
"Gonach!" – an impolite curse  
"Tak mal arik tiak" - you will not be forgotten

Author's Note:

An early influence for Eros' original host (Arien) can be found on deviantart.  
_Eros by MischievousMartian_.

http : / / mischievousmartian . deviantart . com / gallery / # / d2pzfnp (remove spaces)

(Not my drawing, just something I came across whilst researching. Feel free to ignore and use your own imagination if you prefer).

Comments and Feedback appreciated.

Edit: uploaded chapter twice in quick succession as I noticed a couple spelling mistakes to fix.

FULLMETAL - Thankyou for the review. Enjoy the new chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Stargate SG-1, or any aspect of the Stargate franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note:

Chapter contains sexual references. Nothing beyond a Mature rating however. Enjoy.

"We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell"

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

**Chapter 03**

Eros moved down the street intrepidly, absorbing the sights and sounds of a reformed earth. From what he had gathered from his host's memories in the half hour since he took control of the Twenty-four year old, the year was now 2010. Thus, it had been just shy of 1500 years since he was last awake. That thought alone was enough to make his blood to boil.

Fifteen centuries was a long time. It was a long time even by Goa'uld standards, never mind it accounted for more than half his life. Evidently he found a great many things have changed since his return. The breakdown of the class system, an increasing life span due to medical innovations, industrial revolutions amongst numerous other sociological upheavals. He was awake in a time of rapid change. He was confident however, he could adapt to his new environment rather rapidly.

'At least for until I leave this world' he thought.

'I must return to Erosia to discover the fate of my empire and my queen during my absence.'

The goa'uld had taken to return to the first world a century prior to his imprisonment within his sarcophagus to escape the constant stream of Ash'raks his sire sent his way. His brow furrowed.

'No doubt my loving father sought to destroy everything I built. I shall return the courtesy in kind if that be the case.'

He paused to watch a car, a Ferrari according to the information automatically supplied by his host's mind, cruise past the road he was walking along. The god of war despised his offspring with a venom reserved for only a select few.

He hated Eros for the affection his queen Aphrodite held for their descendant beyond all others. He hated him for his methods. Rather than direct assault, the erotic god's approach of diplomacy and subversion were an affront to everything he stood for. He further hated that said methods were effective. He hated the undying reference his son's followers gave to their master and that they followed him from respect, love and loyalty and not out of fear in the case of the war god's own slaves. He hated Eros for doing the same thing to a good number of the system lords making it suicidal for Ares to openly fight his militarily weaker son. He hated that the numerous Ash'raks he had sent after Eros had never returned. But most of all the war god hated that his son had defied him and proven him wrong. He had proved he was not weak as Ares so liked to say, by ascending to the rank of system lord, a luminous tier of the most lauded and lethal goa'uld in the galaxy.

That Eros had done so in the space of roughly seven hundred years, before he was even a millennia old was just another reason for Ares to loath his progeny. In essence, every day Eros spent amongst the living, in the same heady space as his fellow system lords, was a humiliation. But thanks to his son's allies amongst the system lords, short of sending an endless slew of hunters after the young goa'uld, there was nothing the war god could do. Eros only had slightly more than a dozen ha'taks to his name, but his alliances shielded him better than any army could ever hope to.

The young Goa'uld would need to return to gauge events, however there was no rush. If it had indeed been 1500 years, the passing of a few days, weeks, months or even years would unlikely to make a major difference.

'I need to track down either a concealed cargo ship or the chappa'ai in any case, and this shall require time' Eros thought as he continued walking.

BOOM!

The noise of an explosion in the distance behind him buffeted outwards rattling display windows beside him and setting off the alarms of parked vehicles. He swivelled as he walked forward to face the destructive scene behind him, before turning to continue his pace. He was one of a very few pedestrians whom did not stop to ponder in fear and awe the source of the great plume of smoke and fire that was climbing upwards behind him. However this was, largely due to the fact that he had caused that particular explosion.

Thirty minutes prior, he being forced to abandon the teen-aged host he had inhabited for a thousand years, not counting the proceeding centuries he had just awoken from. Arien had been only his second host in his 2800 year lifespan. 2500 years together and here he was forced to jump into an undesirable street punk. Eros tightened his mental stranglehold around his current host's mind, forcing a renewed bout of pain into the human consciousness.

Ordinarily, a host would experience no pain from the presence of a symbiote mind. Even the blending of symbiote and host can be a mostly pain free affair, the only discomfort present coming from a short stabbing pain during entry, which a host could convince themselves was something entirely benign. When the Goa'uld took a host, the usual pattern was to suppress the host's mind, and the consciousness of the body's inhabitant would be more or less aware, depending on the skill of the symbiote, and the level of focus applied in mental suppression.

However if the Goa'uld choose to, they could also cause significant mental pain to the host in addition to sensory deprivation. This was typically only done sparsely as it required an concentrated effort on part of the symbiote to maintain the level of focus necessary to inflict pain on the host's mind. Hence it was performed usually as a punishment for disobedience in attempting to distract or overcome goa'uld control in critical moments. Eros had not the need to punish his former host, as the boy, Arien, was chosen from amongst his Lo'taur. Humans whose greatest desire was to one day be the vessel of their masters.

Eros was fond of his former body. Even very fond of the mind that inhabited it. Fond enough to be devoting a considerable amount of his energy into causing as much pain as possible to his new host's mind for fatally wounded the former. Typically this mental torture was maintained for a few moments. Eros had been torturing his new host for thirty minutes now, and he planned to make it days.

'If there is even a consciousness left at that point.'

Whilst punishing Adam for his transgressions, he had covered up the scene at the construction site. He carried the body of his former host down into the uncovered tomb that housed the remains of his followers, his crippled sarcophagus, and the fat human thief that had wrecked it.  
Eros had carefully removed his gold kara'kesh from the arm of his former host and placed it within a backpack belonging to his new host, after tossing out a impressive quantity of alcohol. He had almost laughed at the thought of his peer Dionysus, god of wine berating him for such an action. Almost that is.

Opening the base of his ruined sarcophagus, a couple dozen large crystals of various hues and colours were revealed. Pondering them for a moment, he removed a cobalt blue crystal, the main control crystal which stored the various algorithms and safety routines to safely manage the sarcophagus' functions. Without it the crystal the device would not function. Eros removed a dark yellow crystal, and shifted a white one upwards. A slightly discernible hum was heard.

The device would not function, unless of course you removed the safety override, and bypassed the power directly into the emitters. With no control crystal it could not function as it intended or switch itself off, and with no safety override it could not bleed off the building power. The device was not functioning so much as building up to an explosion. One large enough to incinerate the sarcophagus, the positioned bodies, the tomb, a good part of the construction site and cause a shockwave up to where he stood, twenty minutes walking distance away.

With any luck, the explosion would be dismissed away as the foolish antics of drunken youths, who thought it a good idea to break into a construction area and play around with explosives that Eros had noted were stored on site. Their bodies would have been far enough away from the explosion to not be totally incinerated. Even if their bodies were entirely untouched by the explosion, a broken neck and crushed organs from his hand device could be explained away by the shockwave. Anything within the tomb however would be totally incinerated leaving no trace of his followers, his former host, his sarcophagus or the tomb itself.

Eros turned off the main pathway into a side alley and proceeded down until he reached a green door. Reaching into the lining of what he now knew to be called a jacket, he produced a key. Eros had never seen the key before in his life, but thanks to the memories of his host, it was if he had seen it every day for years. Inserting the key into the door, he unlocked and quickly closed the door to the house. His house.

_The Residence of Adam Athanas_  
_Athens, Greece_

Click. Eros paused after he closed the door behind him. Listening closely revealed the house was deathly silent. The only sound audible being the wail of emergency services in the distance outside on the street doubtless heading to address the carnage he had created. Reaching out a hand being guided by the subconscious muscle memory of his host, he flicked a light on.

His host's mind was too busy being tortured by him of course, to be aware of what was happening in the environment, but his senses were being utilised by the symbiote nonetheless. Adam's unconscious would continue to feed back information to the goa'uld, even if the human's consciousness was too distracted by pain to be aware of the process. Rather convenient for the goa'uld really, if somewhat taxing. If it was an effortless process for goa'uld to torture their host's minds they'd be doing it all the time. Unfortunately however, nothing in life is ever simple.

The goa'uld blinked his host's eyes a couple times as the bright light of the annex momentarily blinded him. It was actually a decent sized entrance, the house taking up some two levels from what he had determined from the street side. From outside the area would appear rather seedy, but from within the house was much the same.

"My original assessment was accurate" the goa'uld mused aloud as he stepped across the threshold along mouldy walls and past dusty corners. The goa'uld proceeded to wander through the lower levels, taking time to study the various human artifacts. He gazed out windows, examined photos of family and friends (identifying two of whom as his attacker's at the construction site), and a girl friend (obvious by the close quarters). She was an brunette in her twenties. Attractive in a sleazy, wouldn't look amiss in a brothel sort of way. Though he didn't expect his host liked her for her aural skills.

Continuing his explorations, Eros came across a large flat screen that took centrepiece in a room off the entrance hall. Examination of his host's memories revealed it to be a television. It was an obvious source of information and one he looked forward to unravelling the secrets of at great length. It was impressive how far the humans had come.

A certain odour he could not identify drew his attention away however. It was not familiar to him personally, but it was obviously a smell his host was familiar with. Following his nose so to speak, the goa'uld found his way to a much smaller room where there was a small fan plugged into the wall to provide a air flow. The windows to the tiny room had been boarded over, and the door had been locked prompting him to did out his hosts keys to open the door. The acrid smell caused him to wrinkle his nose at the sight of various chemical supplies, cooking implements and what he recognised as primitive attempts at chemistry.

"How ...unsurprising" the goa'uld remarked as he delved into host's subconscious to provide him with the information associated with all of this. His host, the noble, child slaying Adam, was a drug dealer preparing a rather stimulating, if incredibly addictive psychotropic agent within his house. A house that drug money had paid for. Eros seized his mental attack on the host's mind.

'You are not a benefit to your species I see by any means' Eros commented to the host. The host's consciousness, Adam was confused, The sustained mental attack by the alien entity having left him confused and weak.

'Eugh...what happen me with.'

'Eloquent and useful' the he returned, and with a mental dismissal, returned Adam's conscious to a world of darkness and suffering. His host won't be receiving any genuine levity from the goa'uld any time soon.

Leaving the drug den behind him, he perused the upper levels of the house. In short order he had found himself in the bathroom before a mirror. The sight that met him was not one he welcomed. Gone was the beautiful ethebe that stared back at him. Gone was the vessel and mind he shared a bond with since he abandoned service to his father. Instead there was  
Adam.

He was much taller than Arien at 5ft11, with short black hair, brown eyes and a tan that seemed rather endemic to the region. Of a medium build he was by no means unattractive, but he lacked the ethereal quality and youth that was very much to Eros' taste in hosts. A type that appealed to eros partly because of aesthetics, partly since the minds of young hosts are often more malleable and partly since opponents would forever underestimate a child.

His former host had been a tremendous asset in winning over allies, worshippers and staying the blades of assassin's during his rise to power.

Noting the smears of blood belong to his former host upon his clothes, Eros' throat tightened and he was taken by the sudden impulse to want to hurt his current host more than he already was.

Lashing out a fist impacted the mirror on the bathroom wall causing a long crack to run across its breadth. Eros scowled darkly at the shattered image. He will tolerate this body for now and look forward to the time in the coming days when he no longer need entertain his existence.

With a sigh and glancing at the cut on his fist from impacting the target of his rage, the goa'uld began to strip his blood clothes from his new form. Task complete he stepped into what he his new mind knew to be called a shower. Naked, Eros began to wash the sweat and blood from his host's body. New body or not, he was as pedantic about appearances as ever, and if he was going to have to endure this host, he would endure it whilst not smelling like the dregs of society.

Tilting his head, the goa'uld examined the fresh wound to his hand. The broken skin had already scabbed over and would likely be gone by morning. His natural healing powers would repair any abnormality in short order. There was one particular area of scar tissue on his new host's left bicep that was rather unsightly. A result of a bad reaction to a particular drug cocktail he host had once tested.

'I'll be glad to see that go' he thought.

Though for all its many disadvantages, Adam did have the advantage of being taller and stronger than his Arien. Knowledge of the seedier parts of modern human culture was also an advantage, as were, after a moment's curious exploration, the evidently more developed genitals. Though since former host was biologically thirteen, and Adam was almost twice that in age, it would have been a source of some amusement to him if this were not the case.

Regretably though Adam seemed to be rather lacking on the more technical side of human artefacts, however he resolved himself once more that this was only a temporary host

Staying under the cleansing warm water, Eros let the water start to ease start of his concerns away as he explored his new body. Indeed it was not until heard the sound of someone scaling the steps the approach the second level that he reacquainted himself with his surroundings.

"Hasshak" he swore cursing at himself for being allowed to be taken unawares. A mistake he would not repeat. Switching off the water, he stepped out of the shower without bothering to dry himself or retrieve any cloth to cover his naked form. Picking up the bag containing his hand device he released his stranglehold on the host in order to interrogate him.

'Expecting someone human?' He demanded. It was a rather useless enquiry however since thanks to his torturing of the human's mind, Adam was too confused to be aware of the situation occurring with his body.

'Huh, what?'

'You are a real treasure' Eros retorted in annoyance. Exiting into the hallway the goa'uld caught sight of a someone just exiting the landing at the top of the staircase.

"Oh! Adam...heh heh. Some one's happy to see me!" A brunette woman in her mid to late twenties said with a lewd smirk.

'Claudia?' Adam mind wondered in confusion. Eros echoed Adam's thought verbally.

"Claudia? What are you doing here" Eros asked as his mind quickly pieced together who the woman was. It was the same young woman from the photos. Adam's girlfriend Claudia, they had been together for two and a half years. She was not meant to be here tonight, however.

"There was an explosion not so far away, you may have heard it" she replied sarcastically. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm okay" Eros replied stiffly.

"Oh really, what happened to your hand?" she said pointed at Eros', or rather, Adam's hand where scabs and bruised marked the place where he had struck the mirror. The goa'uld pondered if he should kill her rather than answer her question. His host however was obviously paying more attention now and picked up on his musing.

'Claudia! It's not me. Run, get away!" Adam railed mentally trying to warn her by repelling the alien's stranglehold, however the Goa'uld's binding were not fazed in the least at the desperate and emotional struggle.

'A useless attempt effort' Eros derided to the human mind as he gave a casual smile to the woman.

"Cut myself in the kitchen" He answered dismissively.

"You cut your hand in the kitchen" she said in disbelief.

"You doubt my ability to self-harm?" Eros asked with a quirked eyebrow.

'I've just thought of a new way to punish you for killing Arien' Eros said in revelation to Adam.

'Don't hurt her!' Adam raged.

"No, i'm just surprised you even know where the kitchen is in this house" she said with a laugh. Claudia's gaze dipped downwards. "I think i can help you with that though" she said latching onto his arm and leading him towards where the bedrooms were.

'I won't hurt her if i don't have to' Eros commented to the host, 'but i think this works quite beneficially. I get to test my new body's endurance and you get to watch'

'No, don't do this? Claudia, it's not me!' Adam begged.

'If its any consolation, my hosts have always volunteered for this previously' Eros thought as he began reciprocating the woman's passions.

"Mmm, when you'd get so good at this?"

'See, she knows its not me!'

'I'll let you know when you're correct' Eros replied to Adam.

"Natural talent" Eros quipped to the woman, ignoring the host's rages as he led their passions soar and climax. In the aftermath Eros lay on his back, Claudia draped across him. He wore a coy smile on his face which she took to be a smile of satiation, which whilst partly true, was also due to the enjoyment he was receiving in Adam's mental tantrum in his head.

'You son of a bitch!' Adam ranted. 'You can't keep this up.'

'Your body will recover soon enough' Eros quipped. He rolled his host over so he was on top of Claudia once more.

'Bastard! How can you do this?'

'How can I! ...You took away someone I loved' Eros thought, a pang of loss hitting him. 'If you expect any mercy from me I would suggest you had been sampling entirely too much of that compound you've been cooking up.'

'Someone you loved?' Adam's mental voice marvelled. 'You love nothing! The only thing i bet you loved about that little snot I shanked is how much the filthy whore would beg for it like a dog!'

"Ouch! Adam you're hurting me." Claudia exclaimed as fingers unexpectedly clenched down on her shoulders. "Adam? Hey are you okay, you look angry?" The male's eyes contorted in barely restrained rage.

"You took away something I cared about" Eros said aloud. "I think i'll repay the favour"

"What are you talking about?" Claudia asked, confusion in her eyes. "Are you feeling okay? And what's going on with your arm? Your scar's faded?"

Inhumanly strong fingers found there way around the woman's throat and began to squeeze with a strength beyond any mere man.

'No! Don't!' Adam's mind shouted at him.

Eros watched as the woman began clawed uselessly here life rapidly fading. Before his eyes he saw Arien's face once more. Coughing blood, his death replied before his mind's eye.

"I have ...failed you ...my lord"

"Arien...I will ease your pain"

"My lord is kind"

With a twist of his hands he felt a break beneath his grasp and the struggles of the woman stopped. Blinking his eyes, he stared down at the lifeless eyes of not his host but a woman. Eros rolled himself off of the body to the side staring at the ceiling.

'You're a monster' Adam said in a defeated tone. 'A beast. A heartless, soulless beast.'  
With a brutal mental push Eros banished Adam from his mind to the dark void he had created for him.

With a dispassionate shove the male pushed the dead woman off the bed to where she fell out of sight landing with a conspicuous thump. The goa'uld stared up blankly at the ceiling.

"My lord is kind" he said aloud, blinking away tears he had not realised he had shed.

_Three days later_

"Hey!" Adam shouted breathlessly as there came a loud knock on the door. "In here!"

The front door opened a a man entered holding a bag. "Adam Athanas?" a man in his early thirties entered the foyer. He was dressed in a black uniform, a badge proudly proclaiming him as a paramedic.

"You're the doctor right? Its my girlfriend! It was the beast. He's a monster, I couldn't stop him."

"Yes, stop who?" the newcomer asked in confusion. The paramedic's unit had received a call a few minutes ago to come to this address. A female patient in apparent unconsciousness, but the home-owner and caller, Adam Arthanas was obviously in shock and panicky.

"You wouldn't belief me, i'm not sure if I believe it myself" Adam said half leading, half almost dragging the man behind him to a room having a particular acrid odour that tickled the nose the health professional.

"He's evil. That's the only word to describe him. It! Whatever he is."

"Who?"

"My girlfriend! You gotta help her!" The panic stricken younger man lead the way over to a woman collapsed on the floor, back to him.

Deciding to ignore the hysterics of the man in order to focus on his potential patient, he knelt down and rolled her to face him and instantly recoiled. The woman's eyes were clouded and her skin desiccated and palid. She's obviously been dead for a few days.

"What the... She's dead."

He turned back to look at the hysterical man for an explanation. Instead of a shocked or disbelieving look however, he was met with a decidedly unsettling smirk.

"I know" the younger male said. "You're so much more clued in than Adam is." With a quick movement his hand went around the back of the doctor's head and brought their lips into contact. An instant later the man felt something squirm down his throat and a stabbing sensation at the back of his throat. Moments later he was no longer kneeling beside the body but standing once more. However he had not decided to stand up, his body had moved of its own fruition.

'Not your body any more' a voice in his head said.

Eros smirked as he flexed his hands testing the strength of his new form. A scuffing sound near his feet caught his attention. The goa'uld looked down to see Adam convulsing. The goa'uld's smile became rather more sinister as he watched the human roll around. The goa'uld had released symbiote toxins as he abandoned the host. Since they are released directly into the brain stem and notochord, death is swift and excruciating beyond comparison.

After a several seconds the body stopping jerking as it caught up to being as dead as the brain was. Eros adjusted the tie of his new host. He was done here. Collecting the wrist device from the bag he had stowed in the corner of the room, Eros deposited to the doctor's bag amidst the various stethoscopes and other supplies the call in physician took with him. He also threw in several useful items he had found around the house. Largely the thousands of Euros he had retrieved from stashes around the house and a switchblade knife. Finished the motions within a few seconds he stood upright.

"Drug labs" he said to himself as he flicked off the fan that provided ventilation to the volatile room, and emptied a bottle onto the floor and setting another plastic container full of another volatile and carcinogenic chemical in the puddle.

"You wouldn't want to live in one."

The acidity of the first chemical would eat through the plastic of the second and when they two fluids touched, the reaction would be intense. In anywhere from three to thirty minutes his presence here would be erased.

Eros walked out of the small room towards the front door, he opened it without sparing a glance behind him.

"Good bye Adam" he said with a smirk closing the door behind him.

He walked down the alley towards the ambulance, another paramedic was waiting there.

"Well?" the woman asked impatiently. "Are we on or not?"

"Nah. False alarm. Guy didn't want anything to do with me. And in this part of town I don't wanna push it."

The woman laughed.

"I don't blame you, you can't trust anyone around here."

"Ain't it the truth. Lets get out of here"

"Sure thing partner. Say you hungry? Wanna grab a bite for lunch" the woman asked as she slid in behind the wheel. Eros looked over at her with a casual smile.

"I'm famished."

"That's what i like to hear"

He smiled. It was time to move on.

**End Chapter.**

TRANSLATIONS  
Ash'rak: hunter (elite goa'uld assassins whom perform the bidding of the system lords)  
Hasshak: weakling, fool, fodder (insult).

Author's Note:

I had the first half of this chapter written up for quite some time, but had hit a writer's block trying to decide how i wanted to go doing the second half. I fulfilled all my dot points for this chapter, but in terms of execution wasn't sure how to proceed. In the end i just made an evening out of it and wrote it out without worrying too much. I'm still unsure how much i like this chapter, but i had to eventually concede it was more productive to just move things along to more interesting territory than to sweat the unimportant details.

Comments and Feedback Appreciated.

FULLMETAL - Thank you for leaving me another review. I intentionally withheld describing Eros until after his host was dying on the ground to position the reader somewhat, however i do wonder how sympathetically readers perceive him given his behavioural bipolarity in this chapter. Don't worry so much about me being dissuaded from writing due to a lack of reviews. You are correct of course in your assessment of the common MO for SG fics, a phenomena which has lead me to attempt to break the mould by using some first person elements. I realise that this fic therefore occupies are rather small market niche, but I'm writing this purely for my own enjoyment and not to appease others, as should rightfully be the case. It does motivate me quite a bit however to know that there are readers looking for the same sort of thing in a story as I am, so thank you once again for the review.

KAYLEN COOPER - Thankyou for the review, or reviews rather since you rather noticeably managed to fill up my inbox. Glad to know you're enjoying the story and the character as much as I am. Apologies on slow update (i gave myself too much freedom for this chapter which lead to a nasty case of indecisiveness), and i hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

_Edit 6 December 2010:_ Fixed a couple embarrassing errors that I really should have picked up on. Serves me right for uploading an unbeta'd chapter proofread at 2am. Thankyou Fullmetal.


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